The Shadows of betrayal
by kingsley321
Summary: After all his friends choose to turn their backs on him, Ash disappears for many months, only to return to extract vengeance to those whom betrayed him. However, all is not what is seem and it seems like a there is a bigger adventure hidden in the shadows. It is a Kiss Shipping story to those that are wondering about it.
1. The birth of the darkness

The Shadows of betrayal

After all his friends choose to turn their backs on him, Ash disappears for many months, only to return to extract vengeance to those whom betrayed him. However, all is not what is seem and it seems like a there is a bigger adventure hidden in the shadows.

**Hi fellow fanfictioners, this is my very first story on the site so I hope you enjoy it. I know probably some of you are maybe getting bored with the betrayal stories, but I will try to make this one different as I can. I don't own Pokémon and probably never will. **

Chapter One: the birth of the darkness

It has taken many months and many failed experiments but this time they would succeed, they would create life he could just feel it.

"how much longer is this going to take Doctor Fuji? I am slowly beginning to lose my patience with failure" a mysterious feminine voice asked

"Not much longer my lady, this time is different. The experiment will succeed this time, we have learnt from our previous failures and have corrected all miscalculations" Doctor Fuji replied.

His body was covered in scars, the most noticeable one on his face that started from the top of his right eye and ran vertically down to his chin, ever since his creation, mewtwo choose to destroy his former laboratory. He was lucky to survive the explosion, unlike his many assistants and research, and now harboured a massive grudge against the clone Pokémon and the man who asked him to create it, the same man who took his creation and left him to die on the island. The leader of Team Rocket, Giovanni.

Well after the his new creation was finished, he would be like the rest of the world, powerless to stop the destruction that was heading their way.

"My lady, a question?" Fuji asked

"yes?" the mysterious woman, not caring what the question was or who it was from, only looking at the shifting mass of creation she had helped fund

"How will you explain to Mr Hale why his Pokémon seem weaker than usual?"

In order to create their new Pokémon, they required the DNA of Pokemon, not just any Pokémon, these had to be extremely strong Pokémon that very few people have ever taken on and won. These were the Darkrai and Spiritomb of Tobias Hale, an extraordinary trainer who swept through the Sinnoh league, only using his Darkrai. Very few trainers have been able to take Tobias's' legendary Pokémon down. One of these people was Ash Ketchum, and was a well-known enemy of Team Rocket and other evil organisations.

'_I may need to rid myself of this Ketchum child since he could be the downfall for my plans' _the mysterious woman thought to herself before shortly after replying back to Professor Fuji. "I will tell him that have put his Pokémon through some immense training and should be in prefect condition before his battle with Flint of the Elite Four". So far, Tobias had managed to take down the half of the Elite Four, only Flint and Lucien were left. Then he would have the chance to face Cynthia and take the title as the Sinnoh champion. However if it wasn't for the strength of his Darkrai, Tobias would have probably not haven't made it as far as he did. One side effect of their experiment was that it meant that the energy and power of both Darkrai and Spiritomb was drained. But if their experiment paid off then Darkrai and Spiritomb would be unstoppable.

Suddenly the meters monitoring their creation were going off signifying two thing. Either that their creation was finally going to awaken, or that it going to be a another failure and a another setback for Professor Fuji and his generous patron.

The tube holding their creation had now became a mass of swirling shadows, with the mixture of the dark colour purple. The assistants started getting closer to the tube, hoping to see any signs of life. Then a dark, clawed hand smashed through the glass, grabbing one of the assistants and launching them through the air into the wall as if they was a pesky mosquito that they wanted to swat.

'_Such power from only a few minute of being born, this creature will be essential to my plans'_ the woman thought while smiling evilly.

As the remain assistant grabbed cattle prods, hoping they can force the creature back into the container, Professor Fuji only lifted up his hand, signalling them to keep their distance for the moment. "You fools" he started "he threw one man away like it was nothing, do you wish to provoke it to cause more destruction" . After informing them on their near fatal mistake he turned to his creation. It had the Build of a Darkrai but it had the same purple and green tint like a Spiritomb. Its form was also smoky, as if it could not fully solidify. It began to speak.

"where am I?, Who am I?". Its voice, although croaky, was very strong, and intimidating.

"You are in a secret laboratory off the coast of the Sinnoh Region and your name is…" Fuji could not finish the sentence as he had not even considered a name for the creation.

"your name is Darklord and I am your master" the Mysterious woman finished, the stern tone in her voice showing she was not to be disobeyed

"master what is your command?" Darklord replied, bowing its shadowy head towards her.

"I command you to find a man who goes by the name of Ash Ketchum and to whom he loves and cares for and I want you to destroy him, body and mind" the woman replied another evil smile forming under her lips

"How will I do this?" Darklord questioned once again, unsure how it will manage to do this.

"I want you to invade their dreams and corrupt them, have them feel nothing but anger and hatred towards him until they cave in to you will" The woman answered

"It will be done" Darklord answered. Then it molded into the shadows and disappeared

'_watch out Giovanni, first Ketchum, then you, then finally the world'_ was the woman thought as she watched Darklord disappear.

**So that's the end of chapter one. So what is planned for Ash, Giovanni and the Pokémon universe? And who is this mysterious woman? Darklord is not a real Pokémon of course but if people want the chance to draw him I would like to see the results. I am open to criticisms. Until next chapter, bye everyone.**


	2. A sharp reunion

**Hi again everyone and this is chapter two of The shadows of betrayal. I hope you enjoy it.**

**Ages of characters**

**Ash: 16**

**Misty: 16**

**Brock: 18**

**Gary: 16**

**Tracey: 17**

**May: 14**

**Max: 11**

**Dawn: 15**

**Paul: 16**

**Delia: 37**

**Professor Oak: 59**

Chapter two: A Sharp Reunion

It had been several months since ash Ketchum had come in the top four at the Lilly of the Valley Conference but he was not going to let that loss bring him down. In order to be prepared for next occurring Pokémon league conference, he chose to stay in Kanto and train for whatever challenge would face them in the leagues, since he wasn't prepared for Tobias's Darkrai or Latios, but to be honest, would could be.

Ash had chosen to go to Viridian forest to train since it wasn't that hard to find a secluded spot there where he could train with his Pokémon without disturbing anyone or any Pokémon. He was working on Swellow's and Staraptor's flying speed by having them fight against each other in an aerial battle, neither one giving the other a chance to land any too damaging blows, however exhaustion was slowly getting to them and then they would have to rest soon. While Swellow and Staraptor continued their air battle, Ash had Pikachu and Quilava test Torterra's endurance and timing by having them attack him with some of their moves then getting him to release a powerful counter attack.

He told them to hold back some of their power so they didn't cause each other too much pain but if that happened then ash was prepared. He had supplied himself with some potions just for the occasion. He had only taken five Poké Balls with him since he had planned to capture some new Pokémon but no opportunities had arisen yet to do that. Realizing how much time had passed and how all of them would be wanted home soon he called all his Pokémon back. "Okay guys, good work but now all of you can take a good rest". glad they could stop battling, Swellow and Staraptor immediately stopped flew back to where ash was standing.

However shortly before Ash spoke, Torterra had built up an energy ball to shoot at Pikachu and Quilava, so when ash called them back, Torterra became distracted and shot the energy ball which hit a large tree.

A large tree containing a large group of annoyed Beedrill who had just been woken up from their peaceful sleep.

"Crap" muttered Ash as he noticed the horde of angry Beedrill approaching them. Knowing his Pokémon would probably not have enough energy to fight all the Beedrill he recalled them all except Pikachu, who hated his Poké Ball, and did the smartest option. Run. It seemed like the smartest option at the time but Ash didn't realize one thing, when pissed, Beedrill can fly very fast. Seeing that running wasn't doing much good, Ash ready for the inevitable, hoping it wouldn't sting too much.

Until seeing a light brown blur take down all of them with a couple of swift, strong wing attacks. Ash smiled, realizing that he had found his old friend again. "Hello Pidgeot, nice to see you again old friend., thanks for the rescue" ash said, with a huge smile appearing on his face. Pidgeot replied with a series of cheerful chirps, obviously happy to be reunited with its former master once again. They looked at the crumpled pile of defeated Beedrill,only to see one rise up, slightly bruised but still looking like it could put up a fight, ready for a battle.

"Looks like this one is going to be a challenge. Ready Pidgeot?" Ash asked his Pidgeot who replied with a nod indicating it was looking for a fight. "okay then" Ash said, smiling while tilting his hat to face the opposite direction "Pidgeot use Wing Attack". Then the battle commenced.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, after successfully catching the Beedrill, Ash headed home with the assistance of Pidgeot. He could not officially catch Pidgeot since he left Pidgeot Poké Ball at Professor Oaks ranch but he told him that he would call him by whistling out loud. Looking down at his clothes he noticed how dirty they were and wondered how annoyed his mother would get. He was wearing the same clothes he wore during his journeys of Kanto: dark, blue jeans, a black shirt and blue jacket, green finger-less gloves and his trademark hat with the Poké Ball symbol in the center.

"Hi mom, I'm back and I got some new Pokémon I want you to meet" Ash said just as he walked into his house. He then noticed his closest friends and rivals gathered together in his living room. "hey guys, how have you all been?" Ash could have answered that one for them. All of them looked like they've had little sleep. He knew his mom had been trouble sleeping since he heard her tossing and turning and screaming in her sleep a couple of weeks ago. He tried to ask her what had caused the nightmares but she just snapped at him telling him to mind his own business. That reaction had shocked Ash since he has never seen his mother turn like that before.

"Ash we are here to talk about you" Misty started. She was wearing blue shorts held up by red suspenders and a yellow shirt. Last time Ash saw her ever since he started challenging the Kanto battle frontiers

"talk to me about what?" Ash questioned, confused why all his closest friends were gathered in his living room to talk to him about something

"we think you should stop training" Brock replied in a strong stern voice. He was wearing light brown trousers and a light green shirt. He also had his sleeveless black orange coat on. Ash hadn't seen him since he decided to become a Pokémon doctor and went home to his family

"why?" asked Ash, annoyance easily noticeable in his voice "becoming a Pokémon master is my dream"

"That's the problem. it's a dream that you can't fulfill" Tracey replied. He was wearing red shorts and a green shirt, as well as his traditional red headband Ash saw him regularly since he worked at Professor Oak's laboratory but they didn't speak to each other since Tracey was always busy, however Ash thought Tracey was doing it on purpose to ignore him.

"what we are saying Ash" Gary began. He was wearing a black shirt and light blue jeans. Ash didn't see him Much since he was usually doing field research for the professor. Ash was quite surprised he was here. "Is that you're a weak trainer and will not be able to achieve your dream of becoming a Pokémon master. For you its impossible" He finished while smirking slightly

"I am not a weak trainer." Ash stated, getting more angry and slightly upset with what his friends were saying. "look at all my achievements and tell me if they are the signs of a weak trainer".

"what achievements?" may stated, annoyance and humor evident in the tone of her voice. She was wearing black shorts, a white, sleeveless shirt, an orange sleeveless jacket and black and white gloves. Like Gary, her presence surprised Ash since she was taking on contests in the Johto Region "all you managed to do is beat a couple of gym and for what. To lose in the next Pokémon league conference like you usually do"

"face it Ash" Max began. He was wearing brown shorts, and a green shirt. He had become a Pokémon trainer a year ago and was exploring the Hoenn Region to start off his journey as a Pokémon trainer "you're not a strong trainer, you mostly rely on luck to win battles, and even at times that fails for you"

"And Ash" Dawn began. She was wearing a pink and black short dress, a white sleeveless undershirt, a pink scarf and a white hat. Dawn had planned to go to Hoenn to compete in contests like May had done while they explored Hoenn "you hold everyone, including your Pokémon back. Me, and May could have become top coordinators, but noooo your gym battles were much more important."

"That's enough" ash shouted, causing everyone to turn to him. " I may not be the most strongest trainer, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop my journey because of that. And do you dare say I haven't supported any of you. The amount of times I have risked my life not just to save all of you, but your Pokémon and the world". Ash noticed a flicker of emotion, the feeling of guilt, but that quickly disappeared and was replaced with burning anger and hatred.

"Ash stop exaggerating your importance as the fabled 'chosen one'" misty countered "I think that was only time when the legendary Pokémon Arceus made an mistakes"

"Ash we now want you to do one thing for us now" Professor Oak said. He wore light brown trousers, a red shirt and a lab coat

"what's that?" ash asked, tears beginning to form in his eyes

"we want your Pokémon" Gary replied

"what?" Ash said, clearly shocked by their demand

"you heard us" said Paul. He was wearing black trousers and a purple jacket. Last time Ash saw him, he was going to challenge frontier brain Brandon to prove his strength. "give us your Pokémon. all of them deserve a better trainer than you. One who can actually make them stronger"

"No you can't take my Pokémon. they are my friends and we have been with each other through thick and thin" He shouted at all of them he then turned to his mum "Aren't you going to say anything?"

"Ash" she began. It seemed like she was struggling with what she had to say "I think they are right. You are not strong enough to train them. It would be best if you handed them over." Those words stung Ash more than all the comments his friends made. His own mother had turned against him.

"Now Ash" Professor Oak began "Time to hand over your Pokémon, starting with Pikachu"

"No you can't my Pokémon" Ash stated, anger and sadness in his voice

"Ash you aren't exactly in a position to disagree" Misty Stated "there is 10 of us and one of you, all of us much better trainers than you" they then began moving closer to him, arms reaching out to grab Pikachu

"No you are not taking my Pokémon, now stay away" Ash roared. The moment he shouted this, a pulse of aura was released from his body, knocking everyone off their feet. Not knowing how he did it, he just simply ran out of his home and whistled for Pidgeot to come take him. All he could hear behind was them shouting "That's it, run, run like the weak trainer you are"

He was never going back.

**I hoped you enjoyed this chapter **

**So where will Ash go? and what will happen to his Pokémon?. Until next time, bye everyone.**


	3. The thieves descent

**Hello again everyone and welcome to chapter three of Shadows of Betrayal**

Chapter 3: The thief's descent

Ash flew through the Kanto sky, not looking on where he was going or what was in front of him. His only thought was to get as far away from Pallet Town and his former friends as far as possible. His eyes were red and watery, partially from the speed Pidgeot was flying and from the endless tears that he was shedding. How could his friends and family do that to him, he thought they had an everlasting bond that would keep them together for many years. It turns out he just deluded himself and his friends and family hated him.

'_Hated me?' _he thought. _'They called me weak and a useless trainer but they never said they hated me'_

'_They do Ash, they truly do' _a voice whispered in his head_. _he then became confused. What was that voice? It was certainly not his own and he didn't recognize it as anyone else he knew. Maybe the thin air was getting to his head._ 'I should land anyway_' he thought '_Pidgeot is becoming tired from the constant flying'. _Even though Pidgeot had made no complaints, he was becoming slower and the altitude he was flying at was also becoming lower. Looking at the ground to see if he could spot any cities that would have a Pokémon center. Finally seeing one that was still open despite the setting sun tinting the sky a purpley, orange colour, he asked Pidgeot to land outside, where he quickly rubbed his eyes to hide any signs of him crying. He also pulled his hat low to make sure the Nurse Joy there could not get a good glimpse of his upset

Once he entered the center, he was greeted by the friendly smile of a Nurse Joy. "Hello and welcome to the Celadon City Pokémon center, would you like me to heal your Pokémon?" she asked in a friendly tone.

"Yes please Nurse Joy" he replied, placing his Poké Balls, Pikachu and Pidgeot, onto the counter "sorry about Pidgeot Nurse Joy" Ash apologized not truly realizing how big a Pidgeot really was while standing on top of Pokémon center counter "I caught him when I was ten, but I released him for a couple of years. He just returned to me today so I don't have his Poké Ball on me"

"that's ok, we'll still be able to treat him, but it will take a while " Nurse Joy answered in a calm voice, not being intimidated by Pidgeot's size.

"ok then, thanks Nurse Joy" ash said in a genuine happy voice, he did not look at he face though, because if he did she would see that had cried and he did not want to deal with constant questioning about the reason why he was sad at the moment. After grabbing something to eat from the Pokémon centers canteen he went to pick up his Pokémon after getting an alert that their treatment was done.

"Here's your Pokémon" Nurse joy said to Ash pointing to a tray pushed by a Chansey holding his Poké Balls, Pikachu and Pidgeot. "If I was you I would grab Pidgeot's Poké Ball from were you left it since it would be an easier way for him to rest" Nurse Joy advised Ash.

'_Fuck, I forgot my other Pokémon' _ash cursed himself _'I've got to get them back, who knows what everyone there plans to do with them. But to do this I'm going to need some extra muscle'_ "Nurse Joy do you know the address of Anthony Brodew, he usually competes in the P1 Grand Prix which is hosted here" Ash asked the Nurse Joy.

"Yes I do" she answered, writing the address down and placing it on the counter. "May I ask why you wish to meet him" she queried.

"When I was ten, I gave him one of my Pokémon to train and I would like to see if I'm able to finally take her with me" Ash replied in a calm voice. "I wondered if I could leave some of my Pokémon here since I won't be gone long and I'll be back for them I promise" he asked her.

"yes you may, but if it seems you have abandoned them, they will either be released to the wild or given to willing trainer who would wish to own them" she replied in stern tone to prove she meant business.

"Don't worry Nurse Joy, I'll be back for them" he replied. He then walked out of the Pokémon center with Pikachu and Pidgeot following him, on his way to collect an old friend.

* * *

An hour later he arrived at Professor Oaks laboratory with one goal in mind. He was going to grab all his Pokémon. The sun had finally gone down and darkness was slowly setting in the sky As he arrived at the laboratory he asked Pidgeot to land near the window so he could see if there was anyone inside or outside the building. He wanted this to be very quick; Slip into the laboratory and grab his Poké Balls then go to Oaks Corral and grab all his Pokémon. He had chosen to do it now since partially because it would be easier to do at night and he was worried if he didn't do it know what would be the fate of his Pokémon.

As he peeked into the Laboratory he saw four people, three of them with his back to him, while another sat on a chair: Professor Oak, Gary, Tracey, and his mother. His blood went cold looking at his mother since her betrayal hurt him the most, but at this moment she looked distant, as if she was thinking of different things at the same time and by the expressions she was making, she was regretting some of her actions.

'_I wonder if she regrets what she said to me'_ Ash thought

'_No she doesn't'_ the voice whispered again _'she is just annoyed that she could not say more about how weak and pathetic you really are, and how she could not go on her own journey. You held her back'_

'_Shut up' _Ash replied to the voice in his head, tears almost forming at the corner of his eyes again, then went finally chose to listen what was being said.

"It seems like everyone had a good time tonight didn't they grandpa" Gary said to his Grandfather, Professor Oak

"It sure did Gary. It was nice to meet up with old friends and listen to their exciting adventures they've had" Professor Oak replied to his Grandson.

"It was also nice to get the chance to draw their Pokémon, some of them seemed quite strong and healthy" Tracey added.

"That's true Tracey" Professor Oak agreed "Some of them looked well-trained, unlike a certain pathetic excuse for a trainer" he spat out the last words, as if they were poison.

"what did you think of the party, Delia?" Professor Oak asked Ash's mother

"It was a really good party" she replied in a tone lacking any emotion "To be honest I'm very tired, I'm going to go home" she added on before releasing a large yawn, which seemed very exaggerated to Ash.

"If you'd like me to, I can escort you back Mrs Ketchum" Tracey said to Delia

"Why thank you Tracey that's very nice of you" she replied while attempting to smile slightly. They then started to leave the building. Realizing that they would be noticed once Tracey and his mother left the building, Ash signaled to Pikachu and Pidgeot, telling them they needed to move into the ranch to hide from Tracey and Delia. As they were moving, Ash stepped onto a branch, sending out a loud crack into the night. He then froze hoping no one was turn around.

Tracey and Delia had just left Professor Oaks laboratory when they heard the crack. "What was that?" Tracey asked, looking all around him, hoping to see into the night. Delia turned around and saw her son standing right behind them, not looking in their direction and not hoping to get noticed. She smiled.

"It's probably nothing Tracey, probably just a wild Pokémon wandering through the forest, nothing to be worried about" she replied, smiling deviously, knowing that she had convinced him

"yeah you're probably right" he said before relaxing "lets carry on then" Tracey then walked Delia home, oblivious of Ash's actions.

Sneaking around the back without making any more noise, Ash wondered if anyone saw him, since even though no alarm was raised, he felt like someone was watching him. Finally making it almost to the back he heard the voices of Professor Oak and Gary. They were talking about his Pokémon

"so what are you going to tell his Pokémon them" Gary asked his Grandfather, referring to Ash's Pokémon.

"I'm going to state the truth, their trainer has abandoned them, believing them all to be weak and that he cares very little about them, that should get them to change their opinion of him" He replied in a menacing tone. "Anyway Gary we'll sort that out tomorrow, I'm going to go to bed, can you check on all the Pokémon, to see if any thieves or poachers have tried to break in and steal Pokémon?" he asked his grandson in a now tired tone.

"Sure Grandpa, go get some rest" he answered, keen to have some peace and quiet for a while. Then Gary wandered into the Ranch with his Umbreon while Professor Oak went inside.

_Lying bastards'_ Ash began to thought_ 'Not only do they chase me out my hometown while telling me I'm weak and should give up my Pokémon, they are going to lie to them as well. I'm not going to give that little pleasure'. _He waited for a couple of minutes for everyone disappear then he went inside the laboratory to find the storage space where all his Poké Balls were kept. Luckily due to the many years Ash has lived in Pallet Town and visited Professor Oaks Laboratory, he knew where the Poké Ball storage room was. The problem was being quiet enough that Professor Oak wouldn't wake up. Than again, both Tracey and Gary have mentioned how Professor Oak could sleep through a Tauros stampede, which he had done once, allegedly. Walking into the Poké Ball storage room, he grabbed all his Pokémon Poké Balls he wondered why the storage room didn't have locks since anyone could sneak in and take anything. But he had not considered the hidden cameras and silent alarms that alerted the Viridian police when someone enters the storage room without Professor Oaks permission. In other words, Ash had an around an hour or more before the Police came to Professor Oaks Lab and arrested him.

Knowing it would be hard to find all his Pokémon at night, he decided to grab Noctowl first, due to its ability to see in the dark and past the illusions made by ghost Pokémon. He had already placed Pidgeot back into its Poké Ball knowing it needed the rest from the flying, also it would be easier to sneak around without Pidgeot flying above him or attempting to walk behind him.

It didn't take him long to find Noctowl since it is a nocturnal Pokémon and doesn't really sleep at night. It helped that Ash's Noctowl was a shiny colour since it made it easier to pick out from other Noctowl that maybe living at the ranch. He finally saw it in a tree and once he called to it flew down to him, happy to see its trainer once again. Telling Noctowl his plan, it nodded in agreement, keen to help. "okay then Noctowl, lets find the others. You can lead the way". They then went to find the others

Gary had nearly finished his circulation of the ranch and was starting to head back to the lab when he saw Umbreon's eyes light up and Umbreon started to wander back into the ranch. This usually meant one thing; someone was trying to steal Pokémon. Gary ran after Umbreon, keen to see who was foolish enough to try steal Pokémon from the ranch.

Ash had just grabbed Snorlax, Sceptile and Infernape. They were sleeping close to each other on the same tree since it was Snorlax's usual sleeping and eating tree and due to their training, Sceptile and Infernape have become close friends and rivals so they usually stayed close to each other, so they could test each others strengths at any time. A couple of minutes later he was led to Bulbasaur. He wasn't a Bulbasaur now though as he had evolved into Ivysaur after seeing that May's Bulbasaur had evolved into an and to keep up with her. Ash was confused why he had not evolved into Venusaur yet but he guessed that Ivysaur would make it there in his own time. Another thing he knew was that if Ivysaur was close by so was Heracross due to his love for the sap in Ivysaur bulb. He called out for Heracross and he flew into him, knocking him down, and immediately went for Ivysaur, who retaliated by whipping him with his vines. Ash sighed in laughter and placed them both into their Poké Balls, hoping to talk to them later. He then noticed that something was following him. A Pokémon smelling of spice. He smiled.

"Hello again Bayleef" he said greeting his old friend. He was then jumped on by Bayleef while hearing an affectionate 'Bay'. "I missed you too girl" Ash said slowly pushing Bayleef off him and standing up. "I want you to do something for me girl. I want you to find Gible, Glalie, Torkoal, Donphan and Tauros and bring them back to me. Will you do this for me" Ash asked Bayleef, hoping her answer will be yes. Ash asked her to find these pokémon since while he was gone on a journey or training, she acted like a mother to some the Pokémon due to being on of the few female Pokémon he owned and that she was slightly older than them. She nods her head, signifying that she would go find them.

"good girl" he said and he rubbed her head, which ended with her trying to jump him again but he managed to force her off and get her on her mission to find the Pokémon Ash asked her to. "She hasn't changed much, has she Pikachu?" Ash said smiling. Pikachu replied by saying a 'Pika' while rubbing the back of its head in amusement.

"So you couldn't stay away then, could you?" Gary shouted at Ash while shining a torch at his face, nearly blinding him

"Yeah I forgotten something's, like my Pokémon" Ash replied, annoyed but curious that Gary found him. He then noticed Gary's Umbreon near his feet working and realized that Umbreon had found him.

'_Fuck'_ Ash thought _'Should of knew he was going to use Umbreon to patrol the ranch, no matter' _"ready to battle then Gary, or are you too afraid" he said, smirking, knowing that would provoke him.

"scared of you, ha. this is coming from the guy who ran away after receiving some 'healthy criticism'" Gary replied, slightly irritated by Ash's defiance '_didn't he get the hint that he was too weak to be classed as a trainer'_ Gary thought to himself. "Umbreon, show them off the ranch the hard way" and Umbreon Jumped in front of Gary.

"come on out my old friend" Ash said as he released Primeape, which looked ready and roaring for a fight. Gary became slightly nervous. Ash laughed a bit at this. "Still confident now, Gary?" Ash asked Gary while smiling.

"shut up Ketchum" he shouted "Umbreon, use psychic and launch that monkey away". Umbreon's eyes begin to glow a blue colour and so does Primeape. He is then thrown into the night sky. "Now that little interference has been dealt with give me the Pokémon you stole and Pikachu as well, then leave and never come back" Gary demanded.

Pikachu began to growl threateningly and released small sparks from the pouches in its cheeks, keen for a fight, but Ash put his hand up to him and whispered "the battle is not over yet". Just as he said that, Primeape began to descent rapidly towards the ground, while building up a powerful attack. "Now Primeape, use Mach punch" Ash shouted, and Gary looked up and saw that Primeape was falling down with its fist glowing white

"Umbreon, dodge it" Gary said but because Primeape was literally falling from the sky, it was hard to predict where it was going to land. Primeape finally hit the ground, seconds later, its fist on top of Umbreon's head, knocking it out in one. '_Fuck' _was Gary's only thought as he realized how strong the Primeape really was, still he couldn't let Ash leave, so he charged at him ready to beat him to a bloody pulp. Ash noticing this, simply moved a bit to the side and stuck his foot out, tripping Gary up.

"As fun as it would be to beat you up Gary, I have more important matters, bye" Ash said, while slowly walking away

"Yeah like running away from the police" Gary retorted, causing Ash to freeze and look around. Gary smiled "what you didn't think we had security in the place, man you are stupid" he laughed quickly "Now once they catch you and lock you up for theft and assault, they will separate you from all your Pokémon and give them to worthwhile trainers. Who knows I might be getting a Pikachu by the end of this week" he began to laugh again but was cut short by a quick bonk to the head by an annoyed Primeape.

"Good girl" Ash said. Then returned her back to her Poké Ball and ran for the pond, where he hoped is remaining pokémon would be. He knew he didn't have long. With Noctowl in front of him, leading the way, he knew it wouldn't be long until they found the pond. While running there he wondered why Gary hadn't brought out any other pokémon out to battle, since Ash noticed he had his Poké Balls attached to his belt, but he figured the reason for that was he was certain Umbreon would defeat him easily. _'You were wrong about that Gary, weren't ya' _he thought to himself before stopping himself running into Noctowl who had stopped at a the edge of a huge natural pool of water. The ground around it seem close to marsh and was probably slippery. Once he returned Noctowl, Ash suddenly felt a muddy, sticky substance slowly climb up his leg. Thinking that he had trodden into a small bog or sinkhole, he tried his best to pull his legs out but the mud kept climbing. Even Pikachu began to get worried and Ash considered throwing his bag full of his Pokémon and Pikachu into the pond, to save them from sinking along with him. It was not until he heard a familiar sound he realized it wasn't mud but a very friendly Pokémon who favored hugs.

" Hello Muk, sorry for walking on you while you were probably sleeping" Ash said to the sludge Pokémon, but it didn't seem like it minded, it was more concerned on giving him a smothering hug. Ash was eventually forced to the ground by Muk but he only laughed, understanding he did deserve it for stepping on him. _'Man, Bayleef would get jealous if she saw this' _he thought to himself as he slowly began to rise from the smothering hug. Once he managed to stand back up, he returned Muk to his Poké Ball and began to look for his water pokémon. it wasn't hard to find Totodile or Corphish since they chose to rest on the marsh close by to the water. He then found Buizel who was relaxing on top of the water, using his flotation sac to keep afloat. All he need to find now was Kingler, who knowing Ash's luck was asleep at the bottom. But for some reason, he suddenly appeared, walking out of the water to Ash's direction. He then returned it to its Poké Ball. _'must of heard or saw me arrive' _he thought to himself to explain Kingler's sudden appearance. All he needed to do was wait for Bayleef to find his Pokémon and then find him. That's when he heard sirens.

'_Crap. Gary wasn't lying when he said that we had set off alarms' _Ash thought knowing that he did not have very long for the Growlithe and Arcanine to sniff him out and find him. He had secretly hoped that Gary was lying about the alarms to spook Ash, but unfortunately he was telling the truth. He had considered to send out some signal to show Bayleef where he was, but he knew if he did he would get caught and arrested, and he wasn't really sure what time it was but he guessed that it was very late, maybe even close to midnight and the police wouldn't be very happy about being forced to work late. He heard a noise behind him. Considering it to be the police, he got ready to battle, but to his relief, it was only Bayleef, with all the Pokémon he requested. "Good girl. Now get some rest" he told her while returning her and the others to their Poké Ball's. She had tried to jump him again when he thanked her but she was sucked into the Poké Ball before she reached him. Placing all the remaining poké Ball's into his bag, he released Pidgeot once again and he flew into the night sky again narrowly missing the police by seconds.

He returned to the Pokémon center, surprised it was still open and walked inside. He saw the Nurse Joy again, but instead of a smile on her face, she had the look of anger. "so how many of your Pokémon are truly yours and what ones did you steal?" she asked him, with a very stern voice.

'_Crap, she has been told what happened at the ranch'_ he thought to himself before looking at Nurse Joy and saying "I can explain"

"Give it you best shot" She said, her face showing that she probably wasn't going to believe what he was going to tell her.

He told her on how they had planned to lie to his pokémon, saying how they were going to tell them how he abandoned them and didn't care for them. As he told his story, her face softened, roughly understanding his situation. He didn't tell her about what happened before since it was too painful a memory. Once he had finished his story he asked her if he could have the Pokémon he gave her which she simply handed to him.

"Thank you Nurse Joy. Please don't tell anyone I was here" he asked her

"Okay then. I'll act like you were never here" she replied. And then he left the center and disappeared on his Pidgeot. She had not let him go because of his story since it didn't seem to believable However during him telling his story, she looked into his eyes and saw sadness and realized that there was a lot more going on than he was saying and that it seemed like his Pokémon were all the company he had left at the moment.

The thing she didn't notice was his shadow as he left, which had become distorted and darker than usual. Darklord had found him.

* * *

Ash didn't know where he was flying to. All he knew was to get away from Kanto as far away as he could. He had no idea where to go though since his only known relative was his mother and all his friends turned their back on.

'_Your friends and family all hate you' _the voice said. It had returned and Ash didn't really have the strength to retort. He was exhausted both Psychically and Emotionally.

All he could manage was _'They never said they hated me'_

The voice laughed. Was it Ash's imagination or was the voice becoming clearer and colder. It seemed like even Pikachu could hear the voice and was becoming upset by the voices words.

'_Please, they said that you were a pathetic and weak trainer and that you should give up your dreams.' _the voice stated _'if that doesn't signify that they hated you, then you are more stupid than you seem'. _Ash slowly began to cry a bit. The voice laughed more.

'_Shut up' _he told the voice, but that just encouraged it more.

'_If you died, they would not care, in fact I think they would celebrate. After all you held them all back' _the voice replied, even stronger than before. While the voice was speaking to Ash, he had not realized that he was directing Pidgeot to fly higher into the night sky, over the ocean, which act this moment, looked slate gray and stormy, as if the weather was controlled by some unknown force.

This was the perfect time for Darklord to finally drive Ash to the edge.

"I never held them back" Ash said out loud. Even though it made him appear slightly unstable, he knew that the voice could hear him. He also knew that the voice would pick up the slightly uncertain tone from his voice.

'_you stopped them all from following their dreams.' _The voice could even be heard by Pidgeot now and he was becoming very unnerved by it. Pikachu worried what influence what the voice was having on Ash. The voice continued. _' you forced them to follow you because without them, you would have never survived in the wilderness.' _Darklord smiled, proud of how effective his words were on Ash. He continued._ 'And did you repay them by allowing to follow their dreams. You didn't. you had them follow yours, regardless of what they thought of. Think about it, if you weren't around, how far would they have gone. Misty would be probably be a top water trainer, Brock would be the best male pokémon doctor who existed. May and Dawn would be top co-ordinator's, Max would be a P__okémon master, Tracey would have become famous artist. Professor Oak would have met a greater variety of Pokémon if you hadn't dissuaded Gary from becoming a Pokémon master with you dirty, underhand tactics. You held Paul back by not allowing him to reach his full potential by distracting his training. You even ruined the dreams of your mother.' _Darklord's smile widened into an evil grin. He knew he had hit a soft spot with Ash when brought up all the people he 'failed'. '_Due to your unplanned birth, you mother was forced to stop travelling. You held her back.'_

"No" Ash whispered, slowly beginning to cry. He felt the darkness of Darklord slowly seep into his mind, beginning to influence his emotions and he thoughts. Soon he would control Ash. All he needed to do was one more push.

'_YOU HELD THEM ALL BACK' _Darklord's voice roared in his mind, and Ash broke, giving Darklord the chance to control Ash completely.

"And now it is time for Mr Ketchum to that his last jump" as the possessed Ash looked down below him and prepared to jump.

But Ash wasn't going to give up easily.

Managing to gain some control of his body, unconsciously using his aura to banish the darkness in his mind, he turned to Pikachu and said "Pikachu, give be a thundershock". Pikachu looked confused at what Ash was asking but slowly understood, noticing how his masters body glowed with a dark, sinister aura.

'Pikaccccccchhhhuuuuuuuuuuuu' was heard as Pikachu released a thunderbolt at Ash shocking him back to reality and banishing the darkness in Ash's head, leaving behind a loud, inhuman scream. It unfortunately had other effects. More importantly shocking Pidgeot to near-unconsciousness, since he was very weak to electric type attacks. They then plummeted to the ground.

Ash, knowing his death was near, returned both a weakened Pidgeot and Pikachu, who didn't look too happy about it, to their Poké Ball's, since the didn't deserve the same fate he did. He hoped that his death would be quick, and that his Pokémon would be fine and get new owners who would look after him and care for him.

He then closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable.

**Well this is the end of chapter 3. It became a lot longer than I thought it would be. So what is the fate of Ash? Will he survive? And what happened to Darklord? until next time, bye everyone.**


	4. The walking dead

**Hi everyone and welcome to chapter four of The Shadows of Betrayal. Sorry this one is probably later than other updates as I went on a college trip to Poland .**

Chapter three: The walking dead

Dylan was walking to the pier when he found him. He had recently arrived to Shamouti Island on his boat to trade items with the locals who lived there. He had traveled between the Orange Islands for many years now so to him, Shamouti was like one of his many homes. His one true home was on Hamlin Island where his wife and their son lived. He hadn't seen them in a while and he missed them. At his helm and his private quarters, he kept pictures of them, who he would show to people if they asked about is private life. Once he done business here, he was going to head home and give them a huge hug and his wife a loving kiss. The good thing about his business in trading is that it didn't take long to go to island to island, roughly around four to six weeks, mainly depending on how the weather was, and where was he was going to get the best business at the time .

The main thing he liked about the island was prophecy that originated here about the 'Chosen One'. He didn't really believe that the 'Chosen One' would be the one who save the world from destruction as the locals who lived there believed, but he thought that the trainer who was seen to be the 'chosen one', Ash Ketchum was a remarkable trainer. After all, very few people have beaten Drake in battle and been placed in the Orange League Hall of fame.

It was now 10 in the morning and he was going to collect his stock from his boat after spending the night in one of the islands residents houses, but he paused after seeing the body face down on the beach. The body was surrounded by a patch of wet sand and a slightly tattered bag which had a couple of Poké Balls spilling out of it. And in his left hand, there were two poké Balls with a tight grip around them. Dylan quickly ran up to him to check on him to see if he was alive but he was frightened, since by the looks of it the person had been there for a while and it was unlikely he would be alive. He checked his pulse. Nothing.

But then he felt it. It was irregular but it was there.

Dylan realized that the persons life-force was slowly fading away and if he didn't get any medical attention soon they would die. So he bent down and placed all the poké Balls he could see into the bag and placed it next to the person. He then turned around the person and placed the bag onto their body and picked them up. He was very wet and cold. He quickly glimpsed at the persons face and then saw the hat that the person was laying on and placed onto the persons face. He then ran into the center of the island, shouting for help.

Eventually he managed to rouse some people from their sleep and they suggested that he take the person to Slowking as it knows some healing moves and is mostly likely to help perform miracles, which was really the person needed. As they made it down to the small cove where Slowking lived, Dylan wondered who the person was since he had only a little glimpse at the face. But he had a good guess.

Ash Ketchum.

He wondered what happened to the poor kid and how he ended up in the Orange Islands since he's from the Kanto Region and that is a distance to fly or swim from. They eventually made it to the cove and placed the person on a makeshift bed created by the Slowking. They then called Slowking hoping it would be awake.

"why have you disturbed me from my sleep" Slowking said a little annoyed and a bit tired. Even though everyone on the island got used to him speaking like a normal human being, it still unnerved Dylan. After all it was a very rare occurrence. The only Pokémon he knew was able to speak was a Chatot, but even then it was only imitating people. Then again, during his travels, heard rumors of a walking and talking Meowth, but they were just rumors and he has never seen one speak.

"we found this body on the beach" one local started "it seems that he has died by drowning however we have detected a pulse in his body. It's very weak and irregular but it's there."

The Slowking looked at the body and took the hat off the face which caused all the villagers to gasp in shock. '_I was right then. It was Ketchum'. _Dylan thought _'How the hell did he make it here'._ The only being there who did not seem shocked by this sudden realization was Slowking. _'I guess he has dealt with stuff like this before' _Dylan thought _'but still shouldn't it show a reaction or pull a face. After all he worshiped the chosen one as if he was a messengers from Arceus'. _These thoughts circulated around his head until the Slowking spoke again.

"Place him onto the bed" the Slowking ordered. The 'bed' was really a smooth lump of carved rock from the cave wall with a soft, but thin mattress with a couple of blankets on top, but Dylan still did as he was told and laid the unconscious Ash on the bed. "Tell no one of this until I've completed my service" he asked some of the gathered villagers. Luckily there where a few since the rest were still sleeping happily in their beds.

'_They wouldn't be if they saw the 'Chosen One' like this' _Dylan thought to himself before picking up the courage to talk to Slowking. "will you be able to completely cure him, Slowking" he asked the Pokémon.

"I will try, but even then this will be difficult. He appears to have been unconscious and underwater for some time" the Slowking replied " I will require a few hours of peace and quiet and pray that his body reacts to the treatment, otherwise…" he didn't finish after that but everyone got the gist and peacefully walked away, trying to not focus on the worst case scenario's proposed by Slowking. Dylan didn't want to think of it but his mind kept wandering back to the poor kid as he walked back to his boat to collect his stock.

It was going to be a long wait.

* * *

The first thing Ash did when he woke up was release all the seawater that he had swallowed during his high dive by the only way possible. He leaned over the bed he was laying on and vomited, managing to most of the seawater out of his body. He then noticed the Slowking staring at him.

"welcome back to the land of the living, Chosen One" the Slowking said to him, his face not showing any emotion. At first Ash was shocked to hear a Slowking speak but then he remembered when he had heard one speak before and relaxed slightly. He knew it was the same one as before since it had called him the 'Chosen One' rather than his name, or boy.

"where am I?" he asked first, his voice a bit hoarse from all the water he accidentally drank. He then looked around panicky "where are my Pokémon?"

"your Pokémon are in a bag next to you" the Slowking replied in a calm tone. "They are all there however your bag was badly damaged, so I placed them in a new one." The new bag was like his old one except it was blue and faded with age. But usable. "As for your location, I believe you have guessed where you are once you met me, Chosen One"

"Shamouti Island, in the region of the Orange Islands" he replied, slowly regaining his voice. "But I never saw this place" he told the Slowking, while examining his surroundings and the falling sun across the ocean.

"of course you wouldn't have, this is my home and the resting place for those seeking serious medical attention who would not be able to make it to a hospital on time" The Slowking replied, allowing Ash to receive the information that he had almost died. Again.

"So how did I end up here?" Ash said as he positioned himself on the side of the bed, with his feet touching the ground

"you were found unconscious on the beach of Shamouti Island and you were carried here to my home for medical attention." Slowking began "And I tried my best to bring you back to the land of the living but you were not responding to anything, that I believed nothing more could be done for you and was going to send for someone to state that you had passed into the spirit world. something almost impossible happened. You revived yourself"

"I DID WHAT?" Ash shouted, confused and frightened by the fact he actually died. He has a feeling that it's happened before but can't remember when or where

"have you ever been told you have a strong aura" Slowking said, ignoring Ash's question while answering it at the same time. "I believe that you used your aura to increase the healing of your own body".

"Is that possible?" Ash asked, even more confused than before.

"Yes it is " Slowking replied. "Many aura users in the past became injured in battle so they used their aura to heal their battle wounds. However you do not seem to be able to control yours completely since most of the time you have used it, you have not been conscious of it. Like that time at your home when you launched your friends and family back"

Ash flinched at that statement since it brought back very uncomfortable memories. He wondered how Slowking knew about that. '_He must have read my thoughts and dreams.' _he thought _'he is a psychic type Pokémon after all, so it is possible'_

"Is that a bad thing?" Ash questioned, becoming more and more concerned about his hidden powers.

"well" Slowking began "If you do not manage to bring it under control, it will release itself under times of total stress; both physical and emotional. And judging by the increasing power of yours, you could destroy an entire village with no intentions of doing it". While Slowking was speaking, Ash's face had become more and more pale.

"What can I do to prevent this?" Ash asked, hoping he could stop this horrific possible future for him.

"In order to prevent this, you require training by a qualified aura guardian." Slowking told him "Do you know of any aura living aura guardians?"

"I only know Riley, who staying on Iron Island at the moment but other than him I don't know any other" Ash told Slowking "I don't think he a qualified aura guardian though"

"He his" Slowking replied "And since you know of him then it's possible he will take you as his apprentice"

"I hope so" Ash said

"Now then, shall we take a stroll before I send you to him, to see if you are able to walk" Slowking said, slowly walking to the cave entrance.

"Okay then" Ash replied. He then tried standing up, only to nearly stumble to the floor.

"Chosen One" Slowking said, voice full of concern "Are you okay?"

Ash stood up and brushed all the sand that clung to his trousers. That was then that he noticed that not only his bag was torn, but so were all his clothes. _'I guess they didn't want to take my clothes off just in case I woke up and made it an awkward situation' _he thought to himself. "I've just got to release someone quickly, or I'm in trouble" he said, before bending down to his new bag, and picking up Pikachu's poké Ball.

'_Please don't be too mad' _Ash thought to himself, as he released Pikachu from his poké Ball. When he got out he looked both confused, frightened and angry. It made sense since his last possible memory was falling down to the ground from an extremely high place after he had accidentally electrocuted Pidgeot with a thunderbolt intended for, how could Pikachu describe it. The thunderbolt was intended for Ash, yet it was for the thing controlling him. The dark, cold presence that took control of his master and best friend, who returned him to protect him from the fall.

And now he was in a small cave near the sea where the sun was slowly descending back down to the other side of the world, with a Slowking looking at him. And Ash…

Ash was standing right in front of him, with a happy, but nervous look on his face. '_Must think I'm going to electrocute him' _Pikachu thought to himself. He then said 'Pika pi, pikachu' (Don't worry Ash, I'm not going to shock you) hoping he would understand. The Slowking then turned to Ash and repeated what Pikachu had said, helping Pikachu realize where they were. His main thought now was '_How the hell we get here! Pidgeot told me he couldn't see anything, and he has Keen eye as an ability'_ **(I know keen eye protects a Pokémon from accuracy loss, but it could be considered that this means they will also have sharp eyesight)**

Ash relaxed very quickly after realizing Pikachu wasn't angry at him for placing him in his poké Ball. He then bend down, allowing the small mouse to jump onto his shoulder, and get ready for their short trip. "May we take a walk Chosen One?" The Slowking asked "As I would like to build up my power for a long-range teleport and you obviously need to give your legs a good stretch" It made sense since he felt like he could barely stand, let alone walk, so maybe walking around a bit would give them some felling back.

"Ok then, but I might take a while and may need support, my legs feel like jelly" he told the Slowking, almost stumbling to prove his point.

"Understood" the Slowking replied and they started walking out of the cove and onto the island. The darkness was slowly beginning to set in.

* * *

Melody could not sleep.

Usually she was a deep sleeper, show her a bed and pillow and she was gone. But tonight she kept tossing and turning. She wasn't sure why. She had a feeling something was keeping her up.

She had heard the news about the near-dead person washing up on the shore, it was a small island after all and news like that got passed around very quickly. But it almost seemed like that no-one knew who the person was.

Almost.

Some knew. And for some reason they had not chosen to share it with anyone else. She wasn't sure why. Maybe it was someone important who they didn't want anyone to know about. Or a wanted criminal who had thought of jumping into the sea to escape the police, not anticipating the chance of almost drowning. Whoever it was, those who knew didn't want to say anything about it. They would either say 'some person', or try to steer the conversation away from the subject. Some would not say anything at all, possibly for fear they would say something incriminating.

Whoever it was, they were probably the reason for her not being able to sleep, and if they came around, she was tempted to give them a piece of her mind. She then got up from her bed and looked outside her window thinking about her previous dream.

Ash had come back to Shamouti Island using a boat he either bought. And he ran up to her house and shouted for her to come down. She would then run to her door asking what Ash wanted and he would wrap his hands around her waist and pull her in close for a kiss on the lips. After which he would whisper in her ear 'A chance to show you the world'. He would then pick her up bridal style and carry her to the boat where his Pikachu was waiting. And everyone from the island, her friends and family would applaud them all the way until they reached the boat. The would then give each other one more kiss and ride off into the sunset.

It may not seemed like it to his friends, but Ash wasn't as dense about love and romance as he seemed. He knew he liked Melody a lot more than any other of his female companions, yet , he still didn't truly understand the concept of love, melody knew that much, no matter how much she had tried to explain it to him. She only knew about this since while on his journeys, he would send her letters, stating what he had been up to and what he had achieved. He would also, when given the chance, video chat with her at his home or at a poké center. And every time he would speak to her, he would state one day he would visit her and take her on a journey, since she was not able to leave when she was younger since she was festival maiden for every year. It was not until the age of 15 she considered herself too old for the role as the festival maiden and she was finally given chance to travel with Ash .

**_(FFFFFFFLLLLLLAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHBBBBBBBBAAAAACCCCCCKKKKK)_**

She had visited him once for a week, after she found out he had returned from Sinnoh and, after given the chance to stay at his home for the remaining days she was there, since she stayed at the poké center in Vermillion City for the first day(that was how she got in contact Ash and asked if it was ok if she could stay with him for a couple of days, which he replied with a very overjoyed yes). While sitting in his back garden on the third night she asked him if he had planned to do any travelling any time soon. He told her "Not yet, I'm going to train my Pokémon first for the Indigo Plateau Conference in Kanto'

"Oh" she replied, a little sad that he was not going to keep his promise to her. He had obviously noticed her saddened facial expression and said to her

"After I've competed in the Indigo Plateau Conference, I would like to travel again and I would like you to come with me." Her eyes lit up when he mentioned this to her. But by the look of it he wasn't finished. "I also wondered when I enter the Indigo Plateau Conference, who you do me the honor of supporting me all the way"

She threw her arms around him and hugged him "of course I'll support you, you big dummy"

"thank you" and hugged her back. They looked deeply into each others eyes and slowly began to lean into each other, and seemed like that they would kiss.

"ASH, MELODY" His mom called "your dinner's ready" and that almost passionate moment between them was quickly broken by that interruption

"Ok mom" and they headed back into his house from the back garden. As far a melody knew, only Ash's mom and his closest friend (and who Ash considered close as a brother at times) Brock, knew of his 'close' relationship with Melody, both of whom were happy for them. While staying with them, she had even heard Delia once mention to one of her friends, while Ash was training with his Pokémon (She had chosen to stay in for the day), how she may already met her future daughter-in-law. It was obvious her friend asked her a follow up question to which she replied how she was staying at her home for the week. She smiled at this and was happy on how much support she had from his friends and family.

On the day she had to return back to Shamouti Island, Ash walked her to the boat she was riding on. It would first take her to on of the bigger ports that was located in the Orange Islands, since Shamouti Island didn't really have a huge port, despite some of the tourism they got there, hen she would have to hire someone who owned a small boat to take her back to Shamouti Island. She had considered capturing a water type Pokémon that was big enough to carry her own body weight, as it would save her money, but she wasn't very good at battling and decided against it.

"I'm going to miss you" Ash told her "and so will my mom I think"

'_She probably thinks her future daughter-in-law is running away'_ she thought herself at the time. She even smirked at the thought.

"What's so funny?" he asked her, noticing the new facial expression.

"its nothing, don't worry" she told him "but I'm going to miss you too though". They hugged and the temptation to kiss again rose again. But one of the crew members shouted out to everyone.

"ALL ABROAD, SHIP LEAVES IN 30 MINUTES"

"I should get moving" she told him, and she broke away from the hug. Picking up her bag, she then ran onto the boat and stood on the side, waving goodbye to Ash.

"SEE YOU SOON ASH" she shouted to him, while waving. "DON'T FORGET TO KEEP IN TOUCH"

"BYE MELODY" he shouted back "AND DON'T WORRY I WON'T" She knew he would keep his promise. After all he did before.

**_(FFFFFLLLLLAAAAAAAASSSSSSHHHHHHHBBBBBBAAAAAACCCCCKKKKKK OVER)_**

As she looked out side her bedroom window, she noticed something peculiar. Slowking was walking to the shrine which stated the Prophecy of the 'Chosen One'. '_Ash's Prophecy' _she thought herself which caused her to smile. She also noticed another person walking, slightly stumbling, alongside Slowking. Even though there was very little light, (aside from the moon) in the evening, she noticed this persons clothes were very tattered. This person even seemed to have a small creature sitting on his shoulder. she began to get curious on who this person was. _'I wonder'_ she thought and she walked out of her house to spy on this mysterious stranger.

* * *

Ash knew that they had nearly reached their destination. He wasn't sure how but he had a feeling that the place was connected to him. During their walk to their location, Pikachu said something to Slowking, who laughed a bit. "what did he say?" Ash asked Slowking, a bit concerned at what they were laughing at.

"he said we're lucky no one is around at this time, otherwise they might confuse you for the walking dead." the Slowking replied.

"Ah, nice one Pikachu" and he rubbed Pikachu's head gently, which caused him to release a little cry of joy. "Are we almost there Slowking?" he asked, while still having the feeling that they were.

"yes we are Chosen one" he replied and they finally reached the shrine which held the Prophecy about the Chosen One. " Now chosen one, are you sure about following this path, once you do, there will be little chance of returning back to your old life"

Ash had realized this and already had an answer "my old life had died when my friends and family turned their backs on me. Slowking could you do me a favor?" he said hoping he would help.

"yes Chosen one?" it replied

"Could you tell the world that Ash Ketchum died, that he drowned after a strong wave carried him out to sea." he the Pokémon, hoping it would agree.

"I shall" it replied. "May I ask why?"

"I have this feeling something's after me and that if I'm considered dead, it may leave me alone" he replied, glad that the Slowking was glad to help. Shortly after this, they teleported into the night.

"Ash is gone?" Melody said to herself in disbelief, after catching up to the pair and listening to their conversation.. She realized it was Ash after Slowking constantly referred to him as the Chosen One, who as far as Melody knew was only one person. She then sat down in front of the Shrine and waited for Slowking to return.

* * *

Darklord had watched today's event transpire from the moment Ash was found on the beach, using Ash's shadows as a cover. He was pleased with the results. And yet…

Yet he wished he could cause Ash more pain, both physical and mental, since Ash caused him to feel pain for the first time. It was not a pleasant feeling. He knew he would get a chance though as he traveled with them to their location.

It was time to finish the Job.

**This one was a long chapter but I hope you enjoy it. **

**Will Ash get the help he wants? Will Darklord finish the 'job'? And will melody get the Answers she wants? Until next time goodbye everyone.**


	5. A New Beginning

**Hi everyone and welcome to chapter 5 of the Shadows of betrayal. I apologize for this one also being a late update as I have focused on revising for my upcoming mock exams for college, which determine my predicted grade for the end of the year exams.**

Chapter five: A New Beginning

It was almost pitch black when they arrived in Sinnoh. Even though Ash found it hard to see in the night, he recognize where he was. He was in Canalave City. "What are we doing here?" he asked, since when he first met Riley, it was on the Iron Islands, which he assumed that was where he lived.

"we are at the house of aura guardian Riley Luxom" Slowking Replied "I assume this is where you wanted to be" he asked Ash. Pikachu then said something to Slowking which caused it to chuckle lightly.

"What did he say?" Ash asked, a bit annoyed that Pokémon were probably laughing at him.

"He said that you probably believed that Riley lived on the Iron Islands. A place known for its, sometimes hostile, steel type Pokémon" Slowking told him "obviously you really hadn't thought that through did you Chosen One" Both Slowking and Pikachu began to smile cheerily.

"shut up" He told them but he was also beginning to grin himself. He then knocked on the door of Riley's, hoping he wouldn't be too annoyed with a guy looking like he rose back from the dead knocking on his door at midnight.

Riley was in a peaceful slumber when he heard the knock on his door. Due to being an aura guardian, he had learnt to be a light sleeper, allowing the more curious sounds to wake him. His aura helped there as well, as it picked up the aura of all beings at a certain distance. One of the aura's he was picking up was strong, yet somehow familiar. He then ran downstairs to the door just as the person knocked. "hello?" he said to the person in question. He had noticed he sounded very tired as he said that.

Hello again Mr Luxom. It has been a long time" He recognized the voice immediately. It was the Slowking from Shamouti Island.

"Slowking?" he said, confused why he was knocking on his door at midnight. "what are you doing here at this time?" Even though it was dark he began to noticed someone standing next to him. "and who is that standing there?" _'He is the one with the strong aura' _he thought to himself as he spoke.

"Nice to see you again Riley" the voice spoke. Riley recognized the voice as Ash's. He became certain that is was Ash because after he greeted himself, the sound 'Pika Pika' was heard just after, meaning that Ash's Pikachu had chosen to greet him as well.

"What are you guys doing here at this time? And with Slowking?" he asked them. However he had a rough guess on what they planned to ask him.

"Ash's aura abilities are beginning to show themselves and Ash is finding it had to keep them under control." Slowking explained. "So to control them, we have come to visit you to see if you would be able to tutor him in the ways of the aura and teach him how to control it"

Riley did not know what to say to that, after all, he had only been considered as a guardian after he had protected the ruins found on Iron Island, and that wasn't a walk in the park. Then he thought of an answer. "Are you sure you would want me as a tutor, since I've only been truly qualified as an aura guardian for a couple of months now. You do know that there are other people a lot more people qualified than me. Maybe you should ask one of them to tutor you"

"maybe this isn't the time to discuss this" Slowking said. "could Ash at least rest here as at this moment he has nowhere to go and is exhausted from previous events." to prove this point, Ash almost fell down onto the ground.

"Yes he may" Riley told them "I have a guest room that reserved for anyone staying for the night" . Riley then led Ash to the room while glaring at Slowking which said 'You need to explain'. To which Slowking replied by simply teleporting into the night

But he could do that tomorrow, as he was tired himself. After all he had been woken up in the middle of the night to simply waste his time.

* * *

Darklord had been watching this scene with curiosity. He did not know what an aura guardian was but the person referred to as Riley seemed to have a quite a bit of power, it was almost intimidating.

But it would not stop him.

Once Ash went to sleep, he would plague him with such horrific nightmares and vision it would drive him to insanity and possibly suicide. It was the perfect revenge for Ash somehow hurting him the night before. It was possible that Ash also had access to aura, but was not aware of it. After all how did was he able to gain control of his body long enough to give his Pikachu a command to fully purge him from his body. And how was he able to survive the huge fall since no normal human being would be able to do that. These were things Darklord was curious about since it appeared that this Ash Ketchum was no normal human being

He then watched Ash close his eyes and fall into a deep sleep. That was when he made his move and entered his mind.

* * *

Riley was woken once again by Ash. This time he was woken by frightened and horrific screaming. He was also seemed to be shouting to something 'get out of my head'.

He quickly ran to Ash's room to check on him. As he got closer, he began to feel a cold and dark presence. _'What is happening in there? What is that dark presence in there?'_ these were the thought running through his head as he got to the door of the guest room. He then opened the door.

Pikachu, whose face Riley could see, was full of fear, had jumped off the bed and was shouting at Ash, who was constantly twisting in turning in his bed. His face was contorted in pain and he kept on screaming and shouting at the invisible entity to leave his body and him alone. Riley began to notice a dark aura seeping off Ash and realised what he had to do. Running back into his room he grabbed Lucario's Poké Ball and released him. It was clear the Jackal Pokémon understood the situation as it ran to the guest room where Ash was screaming. Riley followed just after and saw that Lucario had already stop Ash from moving by holding him down. Pikachu had obviously became panic by what was happening and started shouting at Lucario, possibly to let Ash go.

"do not worry Pikachu, we are going to do our best to help Ash" he reassured the Small Mouse Pokémon

Pikachu looked at him and said' Pika Pika' (Please help him). Even though Riley could not understand what He had just said he figured he wanted Riley to help. Riley then walked over to Ash and placed his hands on his head, passing his aura through Ash's body and mind.

_**(In the Dream)**_

Ash was running through the wilderness away from something. He didn't know what it was but didn't want to look back as he was too frightened by what he would find. However all he could hear though was **'YOU HELD US BACK' **which was chanted constantly by an unseen force

Even though it seemed like it came from one person, Ash could hear many other voices. These were the voices of his former friends and family who told him to give up on his dreams. And the longer he ran the louder the voices got and harsher the tones in them. Ash even dared to look back in this dream world and he saw what was chasing them.

It was all the Pokémon he has captured all the years he has been a trainer, their forms being distorted by the shadows into more monstrous creations. Ash knew they weren't running to embrace him in a friendly hug as usual. They wanted to punish him for being a weak trainer to them and not allowing them to reach their full potential. Ash also knew that once he stopped running away. They would catch them and he would fall into the darkness where there would be no escape. Despite knowing this, he began to slow down as he realized that he would never be able to escape this nightmare, hell, this nightmare might be the peace he has craved since his friends and family turned their backs on him

'_That's it Ash, Give in to the darkness, accept your fate and join the shadows' _the voice encouraged as it noticed Ash slowing down.

"_No Ash, that is not your Path, you need to follow the path of light and awaken from this nightmare" _a new voice echoed in this dark world it caused Ash, his 'Pokémon' and the other voice to stop. Ash recognised it immediately. Even though he wasn't in his dream, he could feel his presence. It was comforting.

"Riley is that you?" He asked, hoping Riley could help him out of this nightmarish world.

"_Yes it is, and I'm here to pull you out of this nightmare" _he replied, filling Ash with hope.

'How will you do this though?" he asked him, hoping help was possible.

"_By purging your mind of this darkness" _the moment he said this, Ash's dream world was filled with a bright light. Only a small patch of darkness was left. This was the dark presence that Riley felt. It began to laugh evilly

'_You believed it that easy to purge my essence, then you are sadly mistaken.' _the voice told them both then laughed again. _'I now control this boy and I will not let him go until he has suffered.'_

"you did not hear us, did you" this time dream-Ash spoke. His face of fear and pain changed to one of anger and hatred. Riley began to notice Ash's sleeping body had begun to glow blue to show his aura. "We said LEAVE" as he said this, his dream counterpart fired an aura sphere directly at the patch of darkness. Ash's mind was once again his own.

'_How much power does Ash possess?' _Riley thought to himself as Ash body purged the darkness from his body in a short burst of aura. The darkness was shot up into the ceiling and vanished. Ash then sat up from the bed and looked at Riley. Usually Ash's eyes were a dark hazel brown colour, but at that moment, they glowed electric blue, like his aura.

"Ash" Riley said to him "your eyes are going blue like your aura"

"WHAT?" Ash shouted, confused by what he just heard. He then ran to the mirror in the bathroom to look at his eyes. "WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME?" Ash was obviously becoming panicky now. Then again who would blame him, he has one hell of a nightmare, then wakes up to find his eyes have changed colour.

"Your eye colours have changed as its symbolises your abilities as an aura guardian finally surfacing" Riley explained. "Don't worry though, it doesn't last for long and your eyes should change back to normal. However you will now be able to sense and see people's and Pokémon's aura as your eyes and mind have adjusted to your aura abilities" Riley told him as he had experienced the same thing when his aura abilities finally chosen to surface.

"That sounds pretty cool" Ash admitted, after he walked back into the guest room. He could have done without the glowing eyes as they were a bit freaky to look at.

"Ash" Riley said and Ash looked at him "what was that presence that I felt in your head?" To Riley it felt like a Darkrai, which did sometimes visit Canalave City at midnight to plague people with nightmares, until it was chased away by Cresselia however this force felt stronger and more malevolent than the Pitch Black Pokémon.

"I don't really know" Ash told him "but it seems interested in harming me and taunting me about my family and friends" Even the memory of the event still caused Ash pain as it caused him to remember he truly didn't have anyone but his Pokémon

"Your Family and friends?" Riley asked, confused. He wondered if Ash would explain this to him what that meant but by the look in his eyes, which were slowly turning back to their old colour, even the very thoughts still caused him pain. But Riley had to know "why would he taunt you about your family and friends?" He asked him, hoping Ash would tell him.

"It is a long story" Ash replied "I can tell it in the morning if you wish to go back to sleep"

"I think I've got enough sleep for the night" Riley replied "Anyway if that thing is still hanging around, then I don't think it's a good idea to sleep".

"Ok then" Ash said. He then told his story, from returning home after training with his Pokémon, to him waking up on the Orange Islands. As Ash told his story, both Lucario and Riley used their aura to sense if the mysterious creature was hanging around. Luckily, it had seemed to have disappeared.

Once Ash had finished his story, Riley at first seemed very shocked by what he heard. After all he considered Ash to have a very close bond with his friends when he saw him on the Iron Islands, so why would they betray him? One betrayal shocked him the most though

Delia's.

Riley began to walk to the door of the guest room and said to Ash "It is safe to sleep for now, so get some rest. We can talk about your training tomorrow" Riley then began to walk back to his own room to get some sleep, Lucario close behind him. Ash smiled at this, happy that Riley had chosen to actually train him. He then went into his bed to get some well deserved sleep. Pikachu jumped up onto the bed with him, happy they weren't going to be moving anymore.

* * *

It almost seemed like hours but eventually Slowking returned from his journey.

Alone.

This was when Melody chose to ask questions. "SLOWKING" she shouted at him, loud enough that hopefully Slowking could only hear. Slowking turned around. "Where did you send Ash?" she asked him. It seemed more like a demand than a question though to Slowking's ears.

"I have sent him somewhere safe" he told her "At this moment, Ash Ketchum no longer exists, he died shortly after arriving unexpectedly on Shamouti Island, and his body was taken away by the sea"

"what do you mean he has died?" she began to have tears form in the corners of her eyes "I saw him walk with you until you teleported away together and he seemed alive and well. So why do you have to send him away?" her voice was slowly rising as well. Slowking became worried that she would begin to wake people up with her shouting.

So Slowking decided to tell her the truth.

"He has chosen to disappear from the public eye as he being hunted down by a malevolent force. The Chosen one has no place to go. Even his one family and friends have chosen to turn their backs on him" he told her. He noticed her face was becoming one of shock and sadness. She feeling strong feelings of love and affection for the chosen one, Slowking knew that, but he was worried how far she would go to get him back.

Which is why he calculated a plan if she chose to do something drastic.

"Then take me to him" she asked and slightly commanded him. He knew that she was serious about leaving the island to find him, which wasn't truly allowed as she was still the festival maiden for one more year as she was getting too old for the role. She could pass the role early to another girl, however this would mean she would have to find a young girl willing to take on the role as festival maiden, and if she did, then teach the girl what is required by a festival maiden, which can go on for a long time, as it takes a while for some to learn to play the Ocarina.

"I'm sorry but I cannot allow that" he told her, hoping she would accept Slowking's denial.

But melody wasn't going to give up on Ash.

"then I'll just get on my boat and find him myself" she told him, wondering if it would get Slowking to act. It did cause Slowking to become a bit nervous about the situation.

'_Even if he doesn't change his mind, I'm still going to look for him'_ she thought to herself. She wanted to show Ash that he was not alone, and show that people haven't given up on him. Because that seemed like what Ash truly needed at this moment.

"fine" Slowking said suddenly. Which caused Melody to focus again. "I shall take you to him.

"really?" she asked Slowking, a bit hesitant that he would change his mind. "You'll take me to him?"

"Yes I will child" Slowking replied, which caused her to raise her hopes to high expectations. "Shall we go to him now?" Slowking asked her. Even though it would only be an couple of hours till the sun rose again, Ash probably wouldn't mind them visiting now.

"Yes please" she told Slowking, whose eyes began to glow blue due to it activating its psychic powers. Melody then began to feel funny.

_'What is wrong with me?' _She thought to herself as she suddenly felt tired_. "I'm not exhausted from lack of sleep as I would have probably fallen asleep earlier. So what is wrong with…' _she then worked it out. Slowking wasn't using teleport.

It was using hypnosis.

"I'm sorry my child" he said to her as she slowly fell to the ground to sleep. He did not wish to place her under hypnosis but it was the only way to keep her from leaving and suffering a broken heart or be haunted by the same presence Ash is.

Slowking also used amnesia, to erase the events of the night. This way, it would prevent her from running away for a person who did not want to be found.

The next day Melody woke up in her own bed with no memory last nights events. Around 30 minutes later she hears a knock on the door, which is when she is told about the 'death' of Ash Ketchum, the legendary Chosen One. After hearing the sad news, she goes to her bed, lies face down and cries relentlessly, blocking out the sounds of the outside world, and hoping Ash is actually out there, alive and well.

* * *

It was slowly reaching 10 AM when Ash chose to wake up. Despite what happens to Ash, there will always be thing that will never change: his eating habits, his sleeping habits, and his treatment of his Pokémon. as he got up from the bed he noticed some clothes on the counter, with his hat resting on top. Obviously, Riley had got him some new ones to replace the ruins he's worn for two nights now. _'I thank him when I get downstairs _he thought to himself as he tried on the clothes. They were a pretty good fit, considering Riley didn't know his height.

He went to the bathroom to go see how he looked in his new clothes. He was now was wearing dark black jeans, a plain, white T-shirt, with a blue hooded jacket to go on top. Riley had also got him some new trainers. These where white with black lines running down on the side. The new clothes didn't look too bad on him but they didn't really grab people's attention, which was probably what Riley had thought of. He considered putting his hat on but he realized if Ash Ketchum was supposed to be dead, it could probably be weird how a boy who looks exactly like him is wearing his hat, so he decided against it.

He called Pikachu from the upstairs corridor, who was still napping as Ash was getting changed, who then bolted to where Ash was standing, to act like it has being awake all this time, Ash grinned at his best friends antics "you're becoming as bad as me with you sleeping habits, do you know this" he told the Small Mouse Pokémon, who just rubbed the back of his head while releasing a happy 'Pika' in response, which just caused Ash to grin more. Pikachu then climbed up onto Ash's shoulder as they walked downstairs, not before going back into his room to grab his bag which was full of all his Poké Ball's. He wasn't sure what to do with them as he could only carry, so the rest would be unusable to him unless he placed them in a registered storage facility.

"Well you finally woke up then?" Riley said to them as they walked down the stairs. He was wearing his usual aura guardian uniform, which consisted of brown trousers, black shoes, a black shirt with a blue and black jacket. He had chosen to wear his gold necklace but not his hat.

'_I guess he is choosing to relax today by not wearing his hat'_ Ash cheerily thought to himself before responding to Riley.

"Yeah, sorry about that" he replied apologetically "Thanks for getting me new clothes though, how did you get my size?" he asked him, due to Ash being curious about how they fit him well.

"That's okay Ash" Riley told him "As for the clothes, I just guessed the size, hoping they would fit since you seemed the average size for any teenager" As Ash got older he got a bit taller. Even though Brock still towered over him, he became taller than Misty, May, Dawn and even his own mother. Him, Gary, Tracey and professor Oak was roughly the same height.

"So what's the plan for today then, are we going to do any training?" Ash asked, who was really pumped to start being trained to use his aura. Even Pikachu got in the mood for training.

"Maybe later" Riley told him "but first you need to find a Pokémon Ranch to place your spare Pokémon on. Do you know of any ranches where they would keep your Pokémon?" he asked him

Ash hadn't really thought of placing his Pokémon on a ranch considering that the police still thought he was stealing Pokémon from Professor Oaks ranch, so it's still a possibility that they will still be taken away and given to other trainers. Another problem is if he places his Pokémon on a ranch were his 'friend's' Pokémon are, he might get recognized again and he couldn't really go through the pain of betrayal again. He then thought of one.

"The only Ranch I know of where I could place my Pokémon is on Professor Elms Ranch at New Bark Town in Johto" Ash told him "if he will let me keep my Pokémon there that is"

"I think he will, and I don't mind taking you there as I'm guessing you need transport" Riley told him

"Really?" Ash said "Thanks Riley"

"No problem" Riley replied, smiling "I'm happy to help".

"how are you going to get us there then?" Ash asked him as they left the house and Riley locked the front door.

"Using my Pokémon, of course" Riley told him as he grabbed a Pokéball from his pocket and shouted "Come on out Alakazam" as he threw the Pokéball into the air.

The Pokéball flashed open, revealing the yellow and brown Psi Pokémon. "Alakazam, can you teleport us to Professor Elm's Ranch in New Bark Town, Johto?" he asked the Pokémon who nodded his head and uttered a confident 'Ala' to show he was up for it. Riley smiled at this. "Ready Ash?" Riley asked him, as he stood there, watching all the events unfold.

"yeah, I'm ready" he told them

"okay then, Alakazam, use teleport" they then disappeared into nothingness

* * *

After not seeing it for around a couple of weeks, The Eternal Darkness monster, known by the name Darklord returned to its creators. They wanted to know if it had succeeded

"well?" The mysterious woman spoke "Is Ash Ketchum truly dead" They had all heard the news that a trainer who went by the description of Ash Ketchum was found on the beach of on of the Orange Islands, half-alive. Unfortunately after being carried to the Islands healer, he died shortly after as his body was hanging on a delicate thread which eventually snapped. His body cannot be recovered for burial as the place wear his body was laid to rest was flooded with water, which dragged his body to the bottom of the ocean.

Well that was what the media said about the situation

"Yes" Darklord replied in its gruff, cold voice "the person known as Ash Ketchum no longer exists. He is dead"

Everyone in the building smiled at this glorious news and some even applauded and cheered Darklord for its successful mission. Even Dr Fuji and the mysterious woman managed to smile at the news.

It was not like Darklord was lying to his master, as Ash stated on the Orange Islands how he wanted to start a new life and how the world should be told how he has 'died'. This new life may not clash with his masters plans. After all main reason for Darklord for invading Ash's mind after he had told Slowking he wanted to start a new life, was purely for revenge for Ash and his pesky rodent causing him harm and pain, feelings he has not felt before and does not wish to feel again. But all he managed to do was awaken Ash's powers over aura and cause himself even more harm.

Darklord began to wonder why he was choosing to obey their commands. True she had created him with help and could easily manipulate his weaknesses, he was slowly growing stronger and wiser. And more dangerous. These were things the Scientists had tried to avoid ever since the incident with Mewtwo, who after developing his own thoughts and emotions, wanted to find his purpose of life and didn't want to be Team Rockets puppet.

The very thing Professor Fuji and the Mysterious woman expected of Darklord.

At this moment he didn't want to act on these thoughts yet. He wanted to see what everyone's intentions were and how it involved him.

Then he would react.

* * *

They had arrived on the outskirts of New Bark Town where it was most likely no one would see them. Ash suddenly had a feeling of nostalgia as he not traveled through the Johto region in a long time.

"Nice to be back, isn't it buddy? Ash asked Pikachu who replied happily, remembering all the adventures they partook in during their travels in the Johto".

"Guess you missed travelling then, huh Ash?" Riley asked him, and Ash nodded his head in agreement to reply.

"I planned to travel after I had challenged the Indigo plateau again" Ash told him. He did not tell Riley his plans of travelling Melody as that felt personal since he had planned for just them two to travel together. Even though he did not fully understand his feelings for her, he knew he liked her more than any of his other female companions, more now than ever since she had not chosen to betray him like they did. He could not really be with her now because like the rest of the world, she probably believed him to be dead, and the way things were going in Ash's life, it was probably for the best.

"Best thing to do is not dwell on the past and look forward into the future" Riley advised him as he noticed Ash staring into space and possibly thinking about the past. It wasn't the best advice but it was the only one he could give. "ready to go then?" he asked Ash.

"yeah, let's go see Elm" Ash said and pull his hood over his head to hide his face. It wasn't the best disguise, but it worked well. They then started walking to the lab.

It only took them a couple of minutes to arrive in New Bark Town as they hadn't really teleported far from their location. While walking there, they discussed what to do until they came up with a suitable and easy to follow plan.

If it worked.

Once they made it to the door of Professor Elms lab, Riley turned to Ash and said to him "Ash, I've got to go quickly to handle some business Will you be alright on your own for a while?

"yeah I'll be fine" Ash responded "So what are you up to then?" Ash asked him, curious about him disappearing.

"Its nothing to for you to worry about, so I'll tell you when I'm done" Riley responded

"Ok then. So how will I get in contact with you when I'm finished, as I don't really want to hang around here too long" Ash asked him. That was understandable.

"Well since you don't have a Pokégear, I can't call you, however, its possible Professor Elm has a phone so you can use that" Riley told him "here is my number by the way" and then Riley gave Ash a slip of paper which had his number on it.

"Thanks Riley" Ash said "I'll see you later then, I guess?" he asked

"you guessed right" Riley told him. And both him and his Alakazam disappeared.

Ash then took deep breath and knocked on Professor Elms laboratory door. _'I hope he chooses to help me' _Ash thought to himself as he waited to someone to answer the door.

* * *

Professor Daniel Elm was researching the different evolution's Evee could change into when he heard the knock. He had begun looking at both Glaceon and Leafeon as both required to be in a certain location in Sinnoh to evolve. And he was curious whether there were other locations where they could evolve into either Leafeon or Glaceon. He wondered if he could get Professor Birch to help him on this study, as Professor Birch preferred field research to other forms of research, as it allowed him to get closer to nature and Pokémon

Not wanting to be disturbed from his research, he asked one of his assistants to answer the door, who was greeted by a hooded young man with a Pikachu sitting on his shoulder.

"Hello" the assistant greeted in a friendly tone. "How may we help you?"

"Hi" the hooded man replied "I wondered if I could speak to Professor Elm for a moment about something?"

'_That voice sounds slightly familiar' _Professor Elm thought to himself as he heard the assistant and young man speak to each other.

"I'm sorry, but the Professor is a bit busy at the moment." the assistant apologized. Maybe you could come back later?"

"But it's urgent I speak to him now" the boy complained.

"It's ok Ian" Professor Elm said to his assistant "I can spare a couple of minutes to speak to the young man. After all my research isn't going to go anyway is it?" he said rhetorically.

Getting up from his desk, he walked over to the hooded man, who was slightly a bit shorter than him but Professor Elm was able to get a rough glimpse of his face. This person seemed very familiar. "So, what would you like to speak about then?" he asked the hooded man.

"I wondered if you had any room to store my Pokémon?" the hooded man asked in a slightly nervous voice.

"of course we can" Professor Elm told the hooded man who seemed happy about the news "I just need your name and your Pokédex. I would also need to see your face of course"

"Ah" the Hooded man seemed a bit awkward after being told what to do "I will, but before you freak out and do something rash, allow me to explain?" The hooded man asked.

Professor Elm was a bit confused by this question. Why would he freak out after all? "Ok then, I promise not to freak out or do anything rash" he told the hooded man.

"Thanks" The hooded man replied. He then pulled down his hood to reveal his messy black hair and his all too familiar face.

Professor Elm became frozen with fear.

After all. Ash was supposed to have died last night.

"Ash?" he asked, his nervousness obviously showing in his words. "Is that really you?" he asked, wondering if it could be a misunderstanding.

"yes it is me professor Elm" Ash replied, slightly understanding why Professor Elm was frightened of him.

"The news has reported you as dead" he told Ash, which he already knew. Riley had told him. "HOW THE HELL ARE YOU STANDING HERE IN FRONT OF ME?" He shouted at Ash, which he did not expect. He knew people would be shocked to discover he is alive, but he didn't expect them to shout.

"It is a long story" Ash told Professor Elm.

"Well grab a seat and don't miss out anything" he told Ash. "Are you thirsty?"

"nope" Ash to him

"well I'm parched. Shouting is a lot of work. Good thing I don't do it often" he chuckled lightly. He then asked Ian to grab him a drink from the fridge as Ash told his story.

An hour later, after Ash finished his story, Professor Elm finally made his choice on whether to help.

Ash had chosen to tell Professor Elm the story from his friends betrayal to him arriving on Professor Elms doorstep. He figured this to be the best option, since it would help Professor Elm understand why he could not contact his former friends and family. He did not tell Professor Elm of his nightmares or the dark force following him or even his rising aura powers as they felt very personal and even he could not fully wrap his head around them as well.

"Well Ash" Professor Elm began. He had not spoken since Ash started telling his story. "I can see why you chose to leave and why you would fake your death to start anew. But why would your friends and family betray you. They seemed to truly care about you" he asked.

"To be honest I don't know myself" Ash admitted. "But I'm trying not to dwell on it too much otherwise I think it would haunt me" _'Among other things'_ he thought to himself as he said that.

"Well Ash, I admire you for trying to be brave after all that's happened. So yes you can store your Pokémon here" Professor Elm said, hoping it would help raise Ash spirits.

He was correct, as Ash pulled him into a quick man hug and said a ton of thank you's to Professor Elm.

"Its fine Ash" Professor Elm told him "Now all I need now is your Pokémon's Poké Balls and I also need to give you a new Pokédex, because if you choose to challenge gyms with your old one, they'll probably think your ghost is after them" he chuckled at the possibility of this happening.

As Ash handed over his bag containing his Poké Balls, he asked Professor Elm "how long will this take? I'm not too keen on letting anyone I know see me" Even though it was very unlikely, Ash had met and made friends with a lot of people in all the regions he travelled in. So there was always the possibility that someone he knew would appear from out of the blue, just to surprise him.

"I'm honestly not sure Ash" Professor Elm told him "I just need to register all the Pokémon you have captured over the years, but as you have quite a few Pokémon, it could take a while"

"Ok then" he replied. He had faith that Professor Elm would try his best to complete it all quickly, but he just hoped no one attempted to make a surprise visit.

"why don't you grab a bite to eat Ash, I have some food in the fridge which hasn't gone past its sell by date yet and I'm guessing you're a bit hungry" Professor Elm advised him. And to prove his point, Ash's stomach rumbled, to which he reacted by showing a slightly embarrassed smile to everyone before walking to the labs fridge.

An hour and a half later and professor Elm was finished. What he had to do he found to be a mixture of easy and hard.

Easy, because all he had to do was place the Poké Balls in a machine which Nurse Joys use for healing Pokémon. The machine, along with healing the Pokémon, if required, would then record all the details about the Pokémon (e.g. Name, type, ability, height, weight, location where captured, battles, leagues, frontiers, contests, and other events they've competed in, etc). Another easy thing about it was that Ash was missing quite a few Poké Balls, mainly safari Poké Balls. He would ask about that later.

Hard, because all the information on Ash's Pokémon had to be deleted. The reason for this is because during his travels, Ash has competed in many events, ranging from league battles to Pokéringer contests, so most of his Pokémon, mainly his older Pokémon, have built up a huge biography, labeling all their achievements they've won and all the events they've participated in. So if he wanted to keep his own Pokémon under a new identity they couldn't be recorded as Ash Ketchum's Pokémon anymore as Ash Dead was dead. He was able to edit some of the information on the about each Pokémon on the computer if he chose to. He wasn't sure why he and other Professors were allowed to do this, but he appreciated it very much at this moment.

Pikachu's was the longest as he has being with Ash from the very beginning and was partly the reason it took a while to complete it all. The other reason it was difficult was, to gain Pikachu's information, he had to be placed inside a Pokéball, which he despised. After convincing him it wouldn't be long and quite a few Thundershocks, he allowed himself to be placed in the Pokéball, and had his past information erased.

"Okay Ash all done now. You Pokémon are now registered in my laboratory and there is no possibility of anyone looking at their past as it has been erased" he told Ash.

"thanks Professor Elm, for everything" Ash said to the researcher.

"I was happy to help" he replied. He was supposed to give Ash his new Pokédex but Curiosity quickly grabbed a hold of him "Ash, your former records stated that you once caught 30 Tauros at a Safari Park in Kanto **(A/N: For those who have not not heard of this, Ash once caught 30 Tauros in a safari park while exploring Kanto. The reason why it's never mentioned is because the episode got banned due to the use of violence in it (e.g. bombs, Ash has a gun pulled on him, etc). You can watch it but its in Japanese)** yet in your possession is only two, in normal Poké Balls. Can you explain that please?" he asked the trainer.

"Sure." Ash replied "Like you said, when I was younger, I caught 30 Tauros at a Safari Park in Kanto, partly by accident as they kept getting in the way when I tried to catch something else, but to be honest I didn't mind. When I sent them all back it wasn't till a year later that I realized that not all the Tauros were male. Sooo you can see where I'm going here"

"so those two are…?" he asked, understanding what Ash meant and slightly concerned for the poor person who made that discovery

"Yup, they are the children of the Tauros. One of them is the child of the leader of the Tauros herd, he was the one who I used to battle with a couple of times. And the other one was a child I found after I released the Tauros" Ash explained

"Where did you release them to then?" Professor Elm asked.

" Well, after realising that thirty Tauros was a bit hazardous to own in a ranch, I got in contact with the owner of the Safari Park, asking if he would like some Tauros. To which he said yes as some consider Tauros to be quite formidable Pokémon. As I gathered up all my Tauros I asked the leader of the herd of he would like to stay with me as part of my team, but he chose to stay, and allow his child to take his place as my partner." Ash explained.

As he told Professor Elm his story of how he went to around 30 Tauros to two, he remembered the day he chose to release them all into the Kanto safari park.

(_**FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFLLLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHBBBBBBBBBBAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK)**_

Ash is standing in Professor Oaks Ranch with Pikachu sitting on his shoulder, shouting for his Tauros to come to him. He asked the Small Mouse Pokémon before they came here if he wanted to stay at home as the Tauros had the tendency to stampede, even friends, but Pikachu didn't seem to mind.

It has been a couple of months since he returned from Sinnoh, yet, this idea has been debated in his mind ever since he returned to Kanto after left for Hoenn to challenge the gyms and the league there.

"do you think they'll like the idea?" he asked Pikachu, who just shrugged his shoulders to show he didn't know. "helpful you are" he told Pikachu as they waited for the herd to arrive.

A couple of minutes after calling for them, all the Tauros had gathered to where he was standing. Ash knew at this moment he had around 30-40 Tauros, due to some giving birth to baby Tauros's. After several attempts to count them all, he worked out he had all them gathered near him. They were all happy to see him

"Okay everyone, I know you missed me, I missed you too." he told the Tauros. One slightly bigger than the others, stepped towards Ash and playfully tackled him to the ground, obviously happy to see his master once again. His horns had many scars from him fighting for dominance in the herd. This marked him as leader of the herd as well.

Since Ash had used him for battle quite a few times, people called him Ash's 'champion Tauros'. Ash only kept the nickname, simply to avoid confusion when he chose him for battle

As far as Ash guessed, he never lost one battle. "Okay boy, time to get off now" He said to Wild Bull Pokémon as he softly pushed him off him. "I've called you all here for a certain reason. An idea of a new home" Most of the Tauros looked confused as they didn't know what their owner was thinking of, however, only a few understood. "As much as I love and care for you all, are you truly happy here?" he asked them, which caused some of them to look down.

Despite the huge lands they had to run and sleep in, they were restricted into certain places by fences, which they usually destroyed, and were forced to share the land with other trainers and wild Pokémon, some of which sometimes choose to try to take the Tauros's area for their own. It became frustrating for the Tauros to keep defending their own grounds, even for the leader, who was supposed to keep the idea of being strong and undefeatable.

"So I considered if you want to that is, releasing you back into the Safari Park where I captured you, so you have as much open fields as you want to roam" he told the herd of Pokémon. "if you believe it to be a good idea, move to the left." he told them. To help with directions, he stuck his left hand out to show where he wanted them to go and Pikachu was also shouting directions to those still confused on where they had to go. A couple of minutes later, only three was left standing in front of him. The rest had chosen to go to the left, understanding that it was a chance at a new life.

Ash knew the three standing in front of him. One was the Tauros he has used for all his battles, the other two were his mate and their child, who was smaller than both of them. "I wanted to talk to you before I released you all in the safari park" he told his champion Tauros. Tauros gave him a look of curiosity as it wondered why its master wanted to speak to him "I wondered if you would stay behind to be my battling partner?" he asked the Wild Bull Pokémon.

Champion Tauros (**A/N: I'm going to refer to the one Ash used for battles as Champion Tauros to try to avoid confusion with the other Tauros he captured) **replied to his question be slowly walking to the left with the rest of his herd. His mate and child followed shortly after, but once they reach the rest of the herd, Champion Tauros turned to his child and spoke to it in a series of 'Moo's' like a bull, to which the baby Tauros turned around and walked to where Ash was standing. "I knew you would stay with your herd, you're a very loyal Pokémon" Ash told Champion Tauros "But I guess you want me to train your child?" Ash questioned the Pokémon, to which Champion Tauros simply nodded his head.

Ash then bent down to the young Tauros which had walked back to him. "I would be more than happy to train you, if that is what you want?" he asked it, to which it playfully tackled him like its father, to show it was more than happy to stay with him, and that it was strong at its daddy Ash smiled then stood back up, looked at his now former Wild Bull Pokémon and said "Lets get you to you new home"

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"So did you find the other one after you released all your former Tauros?" Professor Elm asked, curious on why it was alone, while the others responded to Ash's command.

"Yeah" Ash replied "I got a bit worried at first since I believed that the poor thing would think that it was abandoned by its herd and start a rampage. Luckily, my other remaining Tauros explained what happened, and it calmed it down a bit"

_**(ANOTHER FFFFFFFFFFFFFFLLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHBBBBBBAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK)**_

Ash had just returned from the safari park where he had released all his Tauros. He had used Staraptor to fly there, as it was quite a distance to walk to, and Staraptor was the only flying type he had easy access to which could carry his weight. He was confident the Tauros would enjoy their own home as while he was travelling to the safari park, he managed to get a glimpse of the place, he could see tonnes of field totally unrestricted by fences. He was also happy with the news that the safari park owner, the son of the former owner (who was a bit violent), would allow the Tauros time to settle in their new home before people were allowed to capture them, so they could learn where they would find hostile territories to avoid, and friendly territories to settle in.

However, when he returned to where he gathered all his former Tauros, he noticed there was two standing there instead of one. He decided to leave Champions Tauros child at the ranch to cause less awkwardness when he released them all into the safari park. However there was another Tauros standing next to Champion Tauros child. He knew it was his because usually other herds can be slightly hostile to each other, even if their opponent is a child. There ware times where he has told off his own Tauros for getting into fights as it caused problems in the ranch.

'_Lets hope it chooses not to hate me for separating it from his herd' _he thought to himself as he walked over to were they were standing. As he walked over though, he noticed that it was sad, but it didn't look angry. 'I_ guess having someone from your herd explain what has happened helps' _he thought to himself once again as he reached the Wild Bull Pokémon. "Hi there little guy" Ash said to the other Tauros. The second Tauros appeared to be a bit older than the other Tauros left behind, so that meant it already chosen to separated from its parents, and live independently in the herd, until found a mate. "Where were you hiding when I called all the Tauros?" he asked it, hoping to get an explanation from the Pokémon.

The second Tauros then turned around and started walking to lead the way. Ash guessed this was what he was doing as both the other Tauros and Pikachu started to follow.

A couple of minutes later he arrived in a small patch of green, hidden by huge bushes and tall, looming trees. _'It must have slept here while I called for all the Tauros to gather to my location,. Obviously the other Tauros were not aware it was there'_ He thought to himself to help understand the situation a bit more.

"So you were here on your own while the other Tauros left, weren't you" he asked the second Tauros, who replied in a sad, solemn 'moo'.

"well don't worry buddy" he told the Tauros "I had originally planned to just have one Tauros, but having two means you still have a buddy to stay with" he told the Tauros, hoping it would lift its spirits. The Tauros, once understanding what he meant, playfully tackled him to the ground like the other one did before. "Ok I get it, you're happy as well" he said, slightly laughing a bit as he realized him being tackled to the ground by his Pokémon was becoming a habit.

Managing to gently push-off the overjoyed Wild Bull Pokémon, he threw two Poké Balls to officially capture them and claim them as his own, and was happy when both Poké Balls settled.

He needed to train a bit more.

_**(FFFFFFFFFLLLLLLLAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHBBBBBBBBBBBBBAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK OVER AGAIN)**_

"So due to it oversleeping, it missed the chance to travel with the rest of its herd" Professor Elm asked Ash with a slightly humorous tone.

"Yeah, Why you ask?" He replied, curious on why Professor Elm was trying not to laugh.

"Well its well-known for Pokémon to copy some of their trainers habits." Professor Elm explained "I guess some of the Tauros knew you a lot more than you thought" he began smirking, trying his best not to giggle.

"Hey" Ash complained, but not in a serious manner "If they choose to copy me, they must have liked me a lot" He then thought about how all of them were doing and if any have been captured. He hoped they got good homes.

"Now Ash" Professor Elm said, becoming serious once again "All we need to do is give you your Pokédex. So what would you like your name to be?" he asked.

Ash had already thought of one before he arrived at professor Elms laboratory. He figured it suited him.

"Have it registered as Aaron Steele" he told Professor Elm. Once he said that, Ash Ketchum finally disappeared.

And Aaron Steele appeared.

And he was ready to take on the world.

**That's chapter five finished. I apologize for it taking a while as I have been busy over the couple of weeks with exams, and as I was writing it, I kept adding new ideas all the time. **

**So will Melody ever remember what happened? (its unlikely but who knows, other than me of course), What do Professor Fuji and the mysterious woman have planned for Darklord and what does he have planned for them? And where did Riley go?**

**Until next time, bye everyone**


End file.
